Apple Details iPad's Battery Replacement Plan

When one thinks of Apple, a single word often comes to mind: battery. It's no secret that the Cupertino-based developer has inched the totality of its product lines toward non-replaceable batteries. So what happens, then, when your iPhone or Macbook Pro battery loses its ability to hold much of a charge? What about the iPad?

It's no secret that the Cupertino-based developer has inched the totality of its product lines toward non-replaceable batteries. So what happens, then, when your iPhone or Macbook Pro battery loses its ability to hold much of a charge? What about the iPad? Will you have to run back to your local Apple store to pick up a replacement?

Apple just announced the terms of the deal for the iPad and, all jokes aside, it's just like the iPhone's battery replacement service... but bigger!

Apple's warranties provide for varying measures of support depending on the product lines--iPhone owners get a free battery replacement if their devices' capacities drop below 50 percent within the first year of ownership--the company offers its own battery replacement service for affected products.

Provided your iPad hasn't gone through some catastrophic amount of damage--"as result of an accident, liquid contact, disassembly, unauthorized service or unauthorized modifications," suggests Apple--then you'll be eligible to take advantage of the company's battery replacement service.

But what does that entail? First, you'll have to shell out $99 (plus $6.95 for shipping and whatever your local tax happens to be) for the opportunity for a brand-new device. And I phrase that as I do for a very specific reason.

When you send your iPad off to Apple, you aren't just getting your same ol' iPad back in the mail after one week or thereabouts. Opting for the company's battery replacement service will basically put you on the list for a refurbished iPad--although the exterior case of the device will be brand-new, the underlying product will be one that's gone through Apple's fix-it procedures in some capacity. Naturally, any data you've kept on your old iPad device will go the way of the dinosaur: You'll want to back up all your settings and information prior to asking Apple for a new battery.

This is the exact same treatment that iPhone users receive, minus $20 to the overall cost of the replacement. It's interesting to note that the replacement fee isn't tiered at all, meaning that even the lowest of devices--the $499, 16GB iPad--will cost the same amount to replace with a refurbished product as the $829 64GB device. That can be a confusing issue for consumers, but you have to keep Apple's battery replacement service in perspective.

When Apple receives a device for battery replacement, it essentially sticks the product in a "to be fixed" bin. In order to guarantee a rapid turnaround time for the iPad you've sent in, it's easier to grab an identical item that's been previously fixed off the shelf and send it your way. Once your device is fixed, it'll go in the waiting line for someone else suffering from a near-dead battery. You're not paying Apple for a refurbished unit per se; you're paying for the entire process.

That's not quite the case with battery replacement services for the replacement-unfriendly MacBook Pro. Given that the laptop system could be a person's entire--and only--computing setup, Apple suggests that the data on the device could be preserved during the course of a normal battery service appointment. As well, one can take a MacBook Pro to any Apple retail store for same-day repair--not so with Apple's portable devices.

David Murphy got his first real taste of technology journalism when he arrived at PC Magazine as an intern in 2005. A three-month stint turned to six months, six months turned to occasional freelance assignments, and he has since rejoined his tech-loving, mostly New York-based friends as one of PCMag.com's news contributors.
His rise to (self-described) fame in the world of tech journalism began during his stint an associate editor at Maximum PC, where his love of cardboard-based PC construction and meetings put him in charge...
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